


Variables

by Entrophy



Category: Sdorica: Sunset (Video Game)
Genre: Hypothermia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24334633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entrophy/pseuds/Entrophy
Summary: Morris takes care of a certain idiot. He tries very, very hard to ignore his growing crush.He doesn't do a very good job.A side fic to Proposal.
Relationships: Charle Ceres/Morris Dietrich
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Variables

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place around the middle of their Senior Year, so 2 and a half years after Proposal?
> 
> Honestly I just wanted to write self indulgent garbage, so treat this fic as an optional side content.  
> Thanks again to my beta reader funfun for doing her thing and patiently answering my stupid questions
> 
> i am a garbage compactor

The merciless blizzard never stopped pelting at his body, yet Charle could barely feel the cold.

He could barely feel anything anymore.

In a burst of anticipation from going on an adventure in the dangerous, exciting Atlas region, he had forgotten to pack the proper gear to deal with the cold.

And then, the Void monsters came out of the dark curtain of the night. The ambush led to Charle hitting the ground several times, soaking his clothes in the snow and tinting everything with bright red. He couldn’t recall how long he had spent in the cold fighting them off.

He uncontrollably shivered as he stumbled through the wasteland. The possibility of another ambush in his weakened state made it impossible to set up camp safely, and the closest outpost was too far away...

Perhaps it was time to head back…? Charle threw up a teleportation rune, but it was surprisingly difficult to infuse Soul Energy when the area was spinning. Or was he the one who was spinning?

The world lurched, and before he knew it, everything was sideways. He was only going to make his wet clothes even worse, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up. The snow was…surprisingly warm, like a soft blanket. Was it always like that?

He tried to snuggle further into it, but his body no longer cooperated with him.

Charle didn’t remember anything after that.

* * *

He startled awake as he felt his body hit warm stone with a _thud._ Where was he…?

He raised his head slightly to look at his surroundings. A blurry night sky loomed above him, stars twinkling. Gravity-defying pathways twisted above him, connecting to various floating buildings. The environment thrummed with Soul Energy, flowing through the area and filling it with life.

_Oh, this is Rune Academy, isn’t it…?_

The world spun around as he slowly sat up. His soaked clothes clung to him, the chill creeping all around his body, yet the air felt like it was about to sear his skin.

At some point, he had managed to push himself to a standing position and start walking, but it felt as if his brain was struggling to avoid sinking underwater . His consciousness kept skipping like a broken recording. The faint thumping of his own heartbeat became the consistency he clung onto to stay awake.

  
  


_Was it him being barely awake, or was his heartbeat that weak?_

  
  


He was in someone else’s arms.

“…Oi…Ce..es…h...wr..ng….c…he..r…?”

…Were they saying something? When did he close his eyes…? Blearily, he tried to open them, but they refused to open beyond a crack. White noise was drowning out even the heartbeat in his ears.

He could see piercing red staring down at him, before his brain finally gave out.

* * *

Morris would have berated this imbecile if he hadn’t gone and fainted.

This reckless dimwit barely returned to Rune Academy whole, using a half assed Teleportation Rune, suffering from minor injuries and a _severe_ case of hypothermia _at the dead of night_ . If he hadn’t happened to be awake, by _pure chance_ , in order to catch that faint signature of his fucked energy infusion, this ape would have been long dead before anyone found him…!

Just the memory of his eyes, cooled into a dull, murky gold, was almost enough to send him into a livid rage. _Almost_. Forcing himself to remain calm, he pressed two fingers against Ceres’s pale, frigid wrist. To his relief, he could still feel a faint pulse, but it was still alarmingly weak. His lips, parted slightly in his struggle to keep air moving in and out of his body, were tinged blue. The Applied student’s body had fallen still aside from the occasional rise and fall of his chest after he fainted, which only made the situation even more dire.

Ceres could _die_.

He’d have to carry him somewhere where he could lay somewhere warmer. The infirmary would be the best choice, but it was a decent distance from where the teleportation point was. He risked triggering cardiac arrest if he tried to carry him all the way there…The Life Magic dorm was much closer by, and he happened to live on the first floor to boot. It would have to do for now. He had no time.

_Shit_. He would use his threads to carry him, but he didn’t want to risk further cutting his blood circulation either…

Very carefully, he lifted Ceres’s body with a levitation spell. He pressed Ceres against his chest, laying his head into the crook of his own neck, ignoring both the biting cold radiating from his peer’s body and his own heart’s acceleration. Now wasn’t the time for his stupid _feelings_ to get in the way. Ceres needs all the warmth he can get right now.

For what seemed like an eternity, Morris walked to his dorm, half floating, half carrying his peer in what could be considered bridal sty-

Stop thinking that. Ceres could _die_ . He was _dying_.

After an unbearably long walk, Morris had finally arrived at this dorm room. Immediately, he placed Ceres onto his bed, and began to carefully strip him of his wet robes. Aggravatingly, he had only worn his normal two layers during his trip to _one of the coldest regions in Vendacti_ . As he removed the thin black undershirt, Morris wondered if his peer even _had_ any extra layers in his closet.

…Oh. He had abs. When the hell did the shut-in bookworm get so fit? He was shaking in his boots whenever his face wasn’t buried in a book before! In a desperate attempt to keep his eyes away from wandering to the muscles on the other’s chest, contracting and relaxing _agonizingly_ slowly, he grabbed all the spare blankets he had and threw them over Ceres.

He never tried to hide from himself the fact that he found Ceres attractive, there was no point in engaging in stupid delusions like that. But this...this was too much for him to handle right now. He should be making sure his heart didn’t _stop_ overnight, not oogling over his muscles like some hormone-addled preteen! He took a deep breath, to (hopefully) calm himself and diffuse some of the heat rising to his face. _Focus, Morris. Focus. Do your fucking job._

A warm compress…he should have a spare somewhere in his first aid kit…shuffling around his room, he finally found them buried under some research journals. He’d probably need to apply them to all 3 possible areas.

_Ceres could die. Don’t think about it._ He chanted it in his head, over and over, as he activated the heat-generating Runes on them.

Carefully pulling back the blankets, and making _very sure_ to ignore Ceres’s almost naked body before him, he began to place the compresses.

Neck,

_Don’t think about it._

chest,

_Ceres could die._

And groin.

**_Don’t think about it._ **

He pulled the covers back up.

First aid has been completed, so now he can focus on proper medical treatment. Letting the Life Magic curl into a thin stream, he injected the Soul Energy into Ceres’s body, letting its natural heat start to rewarm and circulate his blood. As he monitored its flow, he wondered what exactly happened for Ceres to return in his half-dead state. He was exasperatingly reckless, yes, but he wasn’t _that_ stupid. He would never try something clearly beyond his limits. Seeing the life and passion draining from his eyes like that when he found him…

_“Just you wait, Dietrich. What I’ve found will blow you away.”_

  
  


Morris tapered off the flow of magic. …With some time, he should be stable enough to be moved to the infirmary.

With the pressure no longer breathing down his neck, he allowed himself to collapse into a nearby chair and _breathe_. The sun was just barely starting to rise, and here he was, fully awake. He couldn’t afford to fall asleep either, as Ceres’s breathing was still weak. If his heart stopped while he happened to be unconscious…

He should check, just in case.

Gently, he placed his fingers on his carotid artery, right below his sleek jawline.

(He quickly pushed the observation to the back of his mind before the thought could fully form.)

The blood vessel pulsed weakly, but steadily against frigid skin. While it was nowhere near where it should be, it was no longer critically low. Good.

Despite the sickly white coloring, his skin looked smooth. How did it stay like that despite the harsh climates of his expedition locations? Morris raised his hand from its place on Ceres’s neck and began to absentmindedly trace the curve of his cheekbones, slowly moving up his face with feather-light touches.

So much information to take in.

How were his eyelashes so long? He carefully observed them (he wondered if they looked even prettier with healthy, tanned skin to contrast it), as his hand reached towards soft bangs to carefully brush the melting snow off them. The slight dampness had slightly quelled its usual messy, windblown nature, leaving calm waves of silver. His hair had always fascinated Morris since that conversation on the rooftop. He itched to be able to run his fingers through it, to thoroughly document its texture and length during the rare moments of peace (and indulgence) in his busy schedule. Ceres’s breath (he’s still breathing) caressed his face like a gentle breeze as he stroked his hair.

…Wait.

Morris blinked, suddenly aware of his racing heartbeat . Ceres’s face was so much closer than he remembered. The slight chill radiating off the other’s skin felt almost pleasant against the heat rising in his cheeks. His lips…The blue tinge was starting to fade, letting rosy pink sink back in.

_Were they soft…?_

He was staring directly at his answer, only a few micrometers away. If he lowered his head ever so slightly…

Well, he was never one to hesitate to test out a theory. Ever so slowly, as he cleared his mind of any doubts, he pressed his lips against Ceres’s in a tender, chaste kiss.

He was right. They _were_ soft. A small sigh escaped. Morris could barely feel the cold from him anymore, overpowered by the sensation of warm breath mingling against their lips.

How much better would it feel if Ceres’s lips were warm, like his breath?

How much better would it feel if Ceres was awake to _return_ the kiss…?

...Awake…Ceres wasn’t awake.

Holy shit, he was kissing the guy while he was _unconscious_.

He drew back, ignoring the pang of disappointment that shot through him. What the hell was he even doing? Ceres was in mortal danger not even a few hours ago…!

Though…his face looked peaceful. His breathing had steadied slightly since when Morris had first brought him in. It should be enough to rest for a short time…

Despite his pulse persistently stuttering at its hastened pace, Morris was out like a light as soon as he relaxed back into the chair.

* * *

Morris jolted awake, fuzzy memories of a soft, warm sensation fading before he could even realize they were there. Ceres was still lying in his bed, looking considerably less pale. Morris cricked his neck quickly before he rose to check his pulse and breathing.

Pressing his hand once more to his artery, and observing the movement of his chest, he easily determined that the Applied Magic student had stabilized while he had been asleep. As he finished the diagnosis, his eyes couldn’t help but travel back up to his lips, where the blue tinge had completely faded away.

If his lips were warm now…

Should he…?

…Surely another quick test wouldn’t hurt.

He was consciously deciding to lean down to kiss him this time, and the recognition of exactly he was deciding to do sent his heart into a fervent panic. As their lips connected once more, his eyes fluttered shut, savoring the newfound warmth. 

“Mmm…”

Morris felt the vibration against his mouth as Ceres let out a quiet hum in his sleep. His head tilted slightly towards him, and he could feel the other’s lips move slightly against his own- It was enough to steal his breath away, lost in the space between them. The wonderful sensations from before were still there, but he could soundly conclude that it was way better to kiss warm lips than cold ones. Feeling Ceres answer the kiss, even if so very slightly, made kissing him while he was fully awake a rather tempting possibility...

It was only for a moment, but it felt like the kiss had lasted hours as he carefully filed away every observation. He pulled away once more, slowly opening his eyes.

…Only to find gold blearily gazing back at him.

Morris shot back, tripping between the various denials and excuses trying to escape him all at once. “I-you-I didn’t-“

Ceres stared blankly at him, his face slowly coloring a faint pink. His eyes shone with something indescribable (…affection..?) as his mouth curled into a small, shy smile. Everything around the two stuttered to a halt. The sunlight shining through the window, the faint ticking of a clock, the sounds of students mingling outside the dorm room and outside, all ceased to exist.

With the smile still on his face, Ceres slowly closed his eyes once more.

* * *

With a huff, Dietrich pushed past the _useless annoyance_ , an unconscious but warmer Ceres in tow on his back, with that stupid smile still on his face.

“Dietrich~~~what did you do to get Ceres to smile like that~?”

“Damn, Dietrich managed to get Ceres? What a catch, huh?”

“What?! Dietrich got to Ceres before I could? Seriously? Ugh…I mean, I don’t mind _that_ much, it’s kind of hot, but…”

Those gossiping _baboons_. If his focus wasn’t already occupied with carrying Ceres to the infirmary, he would have decked them before they even knew it. His mind unhelpfully supplied him with the memory of breath against his lips.

That gaze filled with gentle, timid affection…

Morris took a deep breath, in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to calm his mind as giggles continued to surround him.

**_Don’t think about it._ **


End file.
